to think anyone over the age of 25 playing computer games on their own should grow up?

[FlorencesMachine]

Maybe it's a generation thing, but I always thought computer games were for children

If it is not too much of a personal question I wonder how old you are?

When I was in my 20s there were things I would dismiss as being too childish for me to consider as activities or interests.

However, now that I am galloping through my 40s I have decided I am not too grown up for anything and if it looks like fun I will give it a go.

Example: When Big Trak was introduced in the early 1980s I thought it looked brilliant but wouldn't have dreamt of getting one as I thought it was just for children. They re-released it last year and it was top of my wish list for Christmas.

YABSeriouslyU. They're fun. No different to enjoying watching a film or reading a book. Do you need company for that?

undertone I am female I can beat most men on most games. I even like the typical manly games, do you think all those things about me?

As for my DH - he's too busy reading philosophy to play computer games

Undertone I think you narrow down the gaming market way too much.
I'm a 35 woman with 2 (soon to be 3) DCs and I play computer games- not violent games to score points, but PC adventure games. A lot of them are extremely well-written, have fascinating plots and challenging puzzles.
They're a fun distraction and exercise the mind a bit more than watching random TV every night.

Saying that I agree that there are some PS3 addicted Neanderthals who spend their lives sitting on their own playing violent games.

Looking further though the gaming industry is booming and offers some really interesting choices- definitely not for children.

YABU I refuse to grow up/give up my video games I play everything from Neopets to Left 4 Dead.

Does he also wear a baseball cap backwards?? ;o))

Undertone: I'm a gamer. Dh sometimes is but also has his own time consuming hobbies. Don't see the diff, sorry.

"- Their inability to amuse themselves in situations without a screen to look at

• The probablility that their social skills (i.e. conversation/compassion) might be impaired
• The likelihood that they may be quite immature (if they still game like a teenager, then they'll probably leave their clothes everywhere/eat junk/be moody like a teenager)"

That's not being a gamer. That's being a dick.

Marianne - I think it's ridiculous that some people are glued to badly acted, terribly written soap operas and spend ages talking about the plotlines & characters as if they are real - but it's no business of mine if they want to.

YABU. My DH is 33 and plays on his own, with friends and online as a pastime.

He doesn't drink or go out and we live in a rural area where there isn't much to do, so a lot of adults hang out and play together.

Well I don't know Crawling - how long do you spend on the computer every day?

anonacfr - it's the PS3-addicted neanderthals I have a problem with. Don't get me wrong - I was an absolute nut for the Monkey Island games when I discovered them a few years ago.

Iklboo - agree with that as well. Don't have a TV, hate it with a passion.

I would have agreed with you until I discovered Angry Birds...

I think allowing it to take over your life, like a friends OH who spends all his time on the xbox is immature.

But as a 40ish woman who loves art, music, reading I can honestly say I also love Tetris, brain training - wii, playstation and I have my own DS.

It allows those of us who were imaginative children to still occasionally live in a parallell universe - now we cant run around pretending to be unicorns.

I think its just snobbery.

MY DP is older than 25 and he plays a few PS3 games as a wind down from work. He doesn't smoke, drink or go out that much. Who am I to stop him.

YABVVVU - why does it bother you?

I love computer games (age= 30). I've got Lost Window -Nintendo DS with me today that I want to trade for something else Can't seem to get up much enthusiasm for the new 3d Nintendo tho, perhaps they'll have one I can try in the shop. DH calls me a "nerd", but he plays FIFA on the Xbox so we're as bad as each other.

"I think it's ridiculous that some people are glued to badly acted, terribly written soap operas and spend ages talking about the plotlines & characters as if they are real"

I'd also assume they'd have far more of pre-disposition to being idiotic bores than someone who enjoys a wide-range of computer games.

well actually no I wouldn't assume that, because to make such a large assumption based on one preferance of a certain persons recreational activity would be ridiculous.

RubberDuck - exactly. They were dicks. End of. But it was seriously like they had not grown up or pushed themselves into new experiences: it was a habit ingrained from childhood to latch on to the computer in every moment of free time. And their mums had just tidied up around them.

blueskysunnyday

"I think there's a distinction to make between 'someone who likes the odd game which happens to be played on a computer' and what I would call a 'gamer' - someone who DOES play for hours a day."

But Undertone there is nothing in the OP to suggest that she was making this distinction. It sounded like a sweeping dismissal of computer games full stop.

As it happens I agree that it might be seen as slightly obsessive behaviour when someone spends hours at a time on a game. However, the same could be said about any activity that takes up a disproportionate amount of your life to the expense of other things. So why pick on computer game players?

Oh hush - it's only like Mumsnet.

I dont go on every day anymore I used to when younger (teenager) but now just a couple of hours on the weekend. I know the type you mean though but IME it has nothing to do with games if there were no games they would just use something else.

YANBU I totally agree. Would automatically think them abit sad. DH and I once went to stay with a friend whose DH wouldnt even interract with us (had never met him before so couldnt have offended him) as he was glued to his computer game.

If it's any consolation though, Undertone, I'm a member of a MMORPG guild where we've done a lot of real-life meetups. Whether it's just our guild or representative as a whole, I can't say, but there's a high proportion of family-orientated people who also have lives outside of the game and are a normal mainly-sane very lovely group of people

Some more anecdotes to add to your data collection!

Ha ha ha, op.

Gosh, these joke threads test the old pelvic floor!

[wunk]